Welcome to the Business and Society course, SP 5, 2015.

What does work mean? Is it really only about money? Is business and ethics an oxymoron? Why do businesses need to think about the environment? Do we really need to know about the plight of people in the underdeveloped countries? Isn't it their government's responsibility?

In our journey together over the next 13 weeks we will discuss these questions through exploring Work, Ethics, Sustainability and Being Professional topics in the course. We hope that at the end of this course you will have a broader understanding of work, ethical and sustainability challenges that confront businesses and societies, and you will feel more capable of making meaningful contributions to your chosen profession. We also hope that this course will ignite in you a passion, to engage further with these challenges as you continue your journey - upholding with integrity the values of your chosen profession.

Kind regards

Dr Manjit Monga

 

There are no prerequisite courses to be completed before this course can be undertaken.

There are no corequisite courses to be completed in conjunction with this course.

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

CO1. Describe the relationship between the elements which make up societies and how these relationships affect the nature of work

CO2. Analyse how the development of these relationships is affected by time and place, including the relationships between indigenous cultures and business

CO3. Identify ethical issues in business, government, not-for-profits and society

CO4. Identify the features of their intended profession and professional life in the community

CO5. Relate the importance and relevant features of UniSA graduate qualities in preparing them for professional life in the community

Upon completion of this course, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Course Objectives:

A graduate of UniSA:

GQ1. operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice

GQ2. is prepared for life-long learning in pursuit of personal development and excellence in professional practice

GQ3. is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems

GQ4. can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional

GQ5. is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen

GQ6. communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community

GQ7. demonstrates international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen

Business and society provides an introduction to the relationship between society, business, government, and the not-for-profit sector. It considers the historical and cultural influences on that relationship and the responsibilities of professionals as managers, practitioners, employees and customers. It provides the foundation for future study in the Business School courses.

4.5 units

There are no additional assessment requirements identified for this course.

For further information please visit learnonline site, https://lo.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=5964

You will need continual access to the following text(s) to complete this course. Where possible the Library will make the book available for student use. Please check the Library catalogue before purchasing the book(s). The Library will always seek to purchase resources that allow an unlimited number of concurrent users, however availability is dependent on license arrangements with book publishers and platforms. http://www.library.unisa.edu.au

Svendsen, L (2008). Work Acumen.

Benn, S, Dunphy, D & Griffiths, A 2014, Organizational change for corporate sustainability, Routledge, New York.

Botton, AD 2010, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, Penguin, London.

Carroll, AB & Buchholtz, AK 2015, Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management, Cengage, Stamford.

Crane, A., Matten, D., & Spence, L. J. (Eds.) 2008, Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context, Routledge, Abdingdon .

Hartman, LP & DesJardins, J 2008, Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston.

Pritchard, M 2006, Professional integrity: Thinking ethically, Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence KA.

Sandhu, S, McKenzie, S & Harris, H (eds) 2014, Linking Local and Global Sustainability, Springer, New York.

Steiner, JF & Steiner, GA 2009, Business, Government and Society: A managerial perspective, text and cases, 12th ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston.

Unerman, J, Bebbington, J & O'Dwyer, B (eds) 2007, Sustainability accounting and accountability, Routledge, Abdingdon UK.

Vernis, A, Iglesias, M, Sanz, B & Saz-Carranza, À 2006, Non-profit organizations: Challenges and Collaboration, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke UK.

All other course related materials can be accessed through your learnonline course site which you will be able to access from the my Courses section in myUniSA.

All study related materials can be accessed through: https://my.unisa.edu.au

Details of assessment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two to three weeks of submission.

If the Course Coordinator allows submissions in hard copy format, you will be required to attach an Assignment Cover Sheet which is available on the learnonline student help and in myUniSA.

This course will involve the production of audio and/or video recordings of UniSA students. To protect student privacy, you must not at any time disclose, reproduce or publish these recordings, or related material, in the public domain including online. This requirement is consistent with University statutes, by-laws, policies, rules and guidelines which you agreed to abide by when you signed the Student Enrolment Declaration.

The feedback proforma is available on your course site.

Purpose
This assignment is designed to explore ambiguities associated with work. It also serves as an introduction to research and the concept of "triangulation of research sources". It requires you to collect information from multiple sources and use it to develop and support an argument (in the form of an essay).

Task Description

In this assignment, you are required to write a short essay (of 500 words) on "Work-life balance is a myth in the contemporary work environment".

You need to develop and support your argument using multiple sources of information. These sources should include:

1. Textbook (some of the relevant chapters are chapters 1 - 5. But you can go beyond the suggested chapters).

And any two of the following sources:

2. Academic journal articles
3. Art/Film/TV/Newspapers
4. Books - other than the textbook

How to go about it?

1. Read the statement in the context of the relevant chapters of the textbook.
2. Make notes about your views on this topic.
3. Select any two of the additional sources listed above - to consider and evaluate different views on the topic.
4. Discuss these ideas in a short essay of 500 words.

Resources
A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:

1. The library will conduct a workshop early in the course to assist students identify sources relevant to this assignment and to properly reference text and non-text sources.    
2. A guide to the writing of essays at UniSA is available on the learnonline site.
3. Assistance is also available to help in structuring an argument on the learnonline site.
4. The referencing style to be used in this assignment is the UniSA variant of the Harvard style. It is available on the learnonline site.

Submission instructions
Complete the ‘rubrics’ at the bottom of the Feedback form, indicating your self-evaluation of the assignment against the criteria. Include the Feedback form in Word format at the end of the assignment. Feedback forms are provided on the learnonline site. The assignment must then be submitted through theassignment link on learnonline site.

Feedback
Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the feedback sheet.

Due date
The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 23 August 2015.

Extensions
Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions to the Course Coordinator, through the learnonline site. Note that assignment one will be discussed in the week following the due date, and so extensions longer than a couple of days will be made only in exceptionally rare cases. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an extension has been granted provided that the assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.

Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)
Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of submission.

Resubmission
For assignment 1 ONLY, students who get graded between 40 - 49 will be invited to resubmit. If the student passes a resubmission the maximum mark that may be awarded is 50%. Re-marking may also be available subject to negotiation with the Course Coordinator as per standard policy.

Media presentation: Sustainability

This assignment requires you to explore sustainability challenges in business and society. It will enable you to:
1.Use contemporary audiovisual technology to prepare and deliver an effective online presentation
2.Present a convincing, clear and concise argument

Task Description:

Prepare a video clip or voice-over PowerPoint presentation about a profit making business organisation which contributes to environmental sustainability and explain how the enterprise makes that contribution.

Your presentation should include:

- A brief introduction of the organisation, what are the products or services it provides.
- Definition of environmental sustainability (Dictionary definition and meanings are not sufficient)
- Why is environmental  sustainability important
- Identify actions taken by the organisation that you think contribute to environmental sustainability.
- Explain how these actions contribute to environmental sustainability.
- Reference list including all the conceptual and audio-visual material used in the presentation according to the UniSA Harvard style of referencing.

Maximum length is 2 minutes.

The chosen organisation should be from your home country.

Industry or business associations and trade unions are not considered businesses.

Simple presentations such as speaking to the webcam and a succession of stills with commentary are acceptable, as are more complex submissions.
Students who do not have access to facilities which would allow them to prepare such an audio-visual presentation should approach their tutor before the end of Week 3 to make alternative arrangements. The alternative arrangement will most likely be the production of a full-page newspaper advertisement or poster, A3 size.

Technical requirements for audio-visual presentations:

Your audio-visual presentation can be a video clip or an autorunning PowerPoint with a voice over presentation. The assignment should be prepared in a widely accepted format which can be uploaded through learnonline. Acceptable video file formats include Quicktime .mov, Windows Media .wmv. PowerPoint presentations should be in Microsoft PowerPoint Slideshow format in either the .ppt or.pptx versions. If you are doing a voice over PowerPoint make sure that the voice files are properly embedded. For more information on this and other aspects of preparing an audio-visual presentation see the ‘Resources’ section below.

Resources
A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:
1.There is a comprehensive Help resource for Assignment 2 in the Assessments block on the course website.
2.Relevant elements of the course include all the material in the segment about sustainability.
3.The library conducts special session to help you with how to make voice over PowerPoint presentations.

Submission instructions
Complete the ‘rubrics’ at the bottom of the Feedback form, indicating your self-evaluation of the assignment against the criteria. Include the Feedback form in Word format at the end of the assignment. Feedback forms are provided on the learnonline site. The assignment must then be submitted through the Assignment link on the learnonline site.

Feedback
Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the feedback sheet.

Due date
The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 20 September 2015.

Extensions
Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions to the Course Coordinator, through the learnonline site. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an extension has been granted provided that the assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.

Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)
Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of submission.

Purpose

The capacity to reflect is an important element of professional life. It enhances the capacity to evaluate current knowledge and to understand and accept personal weaknesses and strengths. This assignment will enable you to develop critical reflection skills and recognise its value in professional life.

Task Description

The assignment requires you to write three short reflective pieces. Each piece will reflect on a specific content within the course. The three pieces in total should not exceed 2000 words.
Each piece requires you to bring together:

1. Information from relevant readings
2. Concepts from the relevant part of the course
3. Personal experience

Turn these over in your mind and reflect on the topic, and write in the first person about your considered view.

The total word length for this assignment is 2000 words. You may choose to allocate approximately equal words to each of the three pieces.

Specific information about the 3 reflective pieces

You are required to write three separate reflective pieces for this assignment:

1. The first reflective piece requires you to reflect on "what does meaningful work mean for you as an individual?"
    
   Information: One suggested reading is Christensen, CM 2010, 'How will you measure your life', Harvard Business Review, vol. 88, no. 7/8, pp. 46-51. You may, however, also choose to anchor your reflection in any of the other readings from the course. 
    
   Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background is provided by the segment of the course which discusses work. 
    
   Personal experience: You can draw from personal life events/experiences/situations. You may also want to discuss what a fulfilling life means for a person you consider a mentor/role model.
     
2. The second reflective piece requires you to reflect on "whether (or not) corporate social and environmental sustainability strategies can be a competitive advantage" .
    
   Information: One suggested reading is Ignatius, A 2012, 'Captain Planet: Interview with Unilever CTO Paul Polman', Harvard Business Review, vol. June, pp. 112 - 118. You may, however, also choose to anchor your reflection in any of the other readings from the sustainability and ethics section of the course. 
    
   Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background might come from the segments of the course which discuss sustainability and ethics. 
    
   Personal experience: This may be experiences you have had or experiences of other people where corporations have (or have not) contributed to societal good. 
    
3. The third reflective piece requires you to reflect on "what does integrity mean to you as a professional."
    
   Information: The careers workbook might help you identify the profession that you seek to join. If you are already a member of a profession, the careers workbook might help you identify the values that are important for that profession. You can then reflect on whether these values encourage being ethical. A suggested reading is Bazerman, MH 2014, 'Becoming a first-class noticer', Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 7/8, pp. 116-119. You may, however, also choose to anchor your reflection in any of the other readings from the ethics and/or being professional sections of the course. 
    
   Way of making sense: Useful conceptual background might come from the segments of the course dealing with ethics and being professional. 
    
   Personal experience: This might be examples of people, from your profession, who have (or have not) acted ethically and the consequences of that.

Reflective writing records the writer’s thoughts about individual learning and experience. Whenever you use ideas from a source, reference them using the UniSA version of the Harvard Guide.

Resources

A number of resources are available to assist you with this assignment:

1. There is a comprehensive Help resource for Assignment 3 in the Assessments block on the course learnonline site. 
2. Relevant elements of the textbook include (but are not limited to) chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9. 
3. There will be exercises in class to assist students in understanding the concept of reflection and to provide an opportunity to practise reflective writing. This will occur before the first piece needs to be written. 
4. The Learning and Teaching Unit has a number of resources specifically addressing the practice of reflection, as well as an item on reflective journals in its Assessment study guide series. 
5. The online resource ‘An introduction to reflective practice’ includes a section on reflective writing and is available on the course learnonline site.

Submission instructions

The assignment must then be submitted through the Assignment link on the learnonline site. Complete the rubrics at the bottom of the feedback form to indicate your self evaluation of the assignment against the criteria. The feedback forms are available from the learnonline site.

Feedback

Feedback will be given within two-three weeks of the submission date. Feedback on this assessment will be provided on the Feedback form which is found on the learnonline site. For assessment criteria refer to the feedback sheet.

Due date

The completed assignment is due at 11.00 pm Adelaide time on Sunday 25 October 2015.

Extensions

Extensions will not normally be granted. Exceptions will be made for personal illness supported by medical certificates and for significant, unexpected and unforeseeable personal and family events. Apply for extensions to the Course Coordinator, through the learnonline site. Late penalties will not apply to assignments for which an extension has been granted provided that the assignment is submitted by the extended submission date.

Late submissions (where no prior arrangement for an extension has been made)

Assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the assignment will no longer be accepted. There is no commitment to return late assignments within two weeks of submission.

The exam will assess the content described in the course statement.

The exam has three parts:

• Part A : Case study - worth 15 marks.
• Part B: Short answer questions - worth 10 marks
• Part C: 10 multiple choice questions - worth 5 marks

The duration of the exam will be two hours plus 10 minutes reading time, plus 20 minutes for NESB students.

Information about exams, including what to bring, can be found on the exams website.

If you have an Entext entitlement or an Access Plan you may be allowed to take additional approved items into the exam or be allowed extra time. These adjustments to the standard requirements of examinations are outlined in Section 3.3 ‘Variations to Examinations’ of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual.

The standards by which the exam will be assessed are consistent with the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual.

Resources and activities
A number of resources are available to assist you with preparation for the exam:

1. There is a comprehensive help resource for the examination in the assessments block on the course website. This includes a past paper and the relevant mark scheme.
2. The case which is the basis for the case study part of the examination will be the subject of a presentation in the lectures and will be discussed in tutorials and online. You will be provided with a copy of this case at least one week before the end of classes. You are not permitted to take your personal copy of the case into the examination. A complete copy will be provided as part of the examination paper.

Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.

All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment:
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.

Students with disabilities may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements.

Information for students with disabilities is available at:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students/

Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines can be provided in:

Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clauses 7.8 & 7.9 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible.

Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.11 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).

More information about variation to assessment may be found by consulting the relevant policy: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (section 7).

The marking of each assignment is subject to moderation by the Course Coordinator to ensure consistency between markers. Each tutor submits a sample of assignments to the teaching team once they have marked their first batch of assignments. The teaching team provides feedback before tutors complete the marking of the rest of the assignments and returning these to students.

UniSA is committed to fostering and preserving the scholarly values of curiosity, experimentation, critical appraisal and integrity. Students are expected to demonstrate high standards of academic integrity.

Academic integrity is a term used at university to describe honest behaviour as it relates to all academic work (for example papers written by staff, student assignments, conduct in exams, etc) and is the foundation of university life. One of the main principles is respecting other people's ideas and not claiming them as your own. Anyone found to have used another person's ideas without proper acknowledgement is deemed guilty of Academic Misconduct and the University considers this to be a serious matter.

The University of South Australia wants its students to display academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens and that students adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty at all times, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct for all students. Work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be tested using the text comparison software Turnitin.

More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on the Learning and Teaching Unit website at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/ltu/integrity/default.asp

See above under Assessment details.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in the evaluation of the course. This will include in-class discussion and formal questionnaires.

Recent changes to the course as a result of student feedback include:

• Changes to the categories of resources for Assignment 1
• Extra assistance with the voice-over element of Assignment 2
• Continuance of the Facebook page for the course after the initial trial
• Readings changed and updated
• Reflection exercises developed